Remake, Remodel

Marfa, TX

The past couple years have been a pretty crazy time for Julie and I.  We got married, moved to Austin and both started working our collective asses off.  As such, we haven't had a real vacation since out honeymoon and we've both been feeling it pretty hard.

As our 2nd wedding anniversary was approaching, we decided to take a few days and head out to Marfa, TX, a very cool little community in West Texas.  It's kind of like a smaller version of Santa Fe, NM with a lot of cool art, an awesome film festival and some really good restaurants.

We drove the 6 hours from Austin and checked into the Thunderbird Hotel, an artfully deigned, artist friendly place that rents Lomography cameras, bikes and has a very good DVD library with a mix of fun movies and the complete Criterion collection.  It also stocks our favorite bath products (Malin+Goetz) and has an awesome swimming pool.

We had an amazing time and I can't recommend Marfa more, especially for people who are looking for a quick get away from Austin.  The drive goes by quickly (especially when you're doing 90 on I-10) and there's enough to keep things interested for 3-4 days, no problem.

We're already talking about going back, maybe for a longer trip.  If you do go, make sure you go to the Miniture Rooster, one of the best restaurants I've been to in a long time.

Help The Aged

Been hard at work this week, shooting and directing a music video for my Twelve Films Project.  Me, my Canon 7D and Andrew Rosas have been running around downtown Austin having a gay old time.  The problem is, we get started around 11pm and have been finishing up around 2am-3am.  I finally understand what Danny Glover means in those Lethal Weapon movies.

There used to be a time (not that long ago, it seems) where I would stay up 2-3 days straight editing, shooting, whatever...and I was fine.  Now, it's hard for me to go 24 hours without sleep, much less 48 or 72.  I'm coming up on 40 soon (a couple years) and I'm really starting to feel it.  It's a strange sensation, knowing that your body isn't always going to back up your decisions.  

Still, it is worth it.  I'm glad to be running myself ragged on my own projects rather than someone else's, and the footage is really starting to come together, so I can't complain.  But, while I'm learning a lot working on this project, I don't think I'd ever do it again.  A short film every month is a big undertaking.  It's only March and I'm already tired.  Next month's film is going to be small, not a narrative, so I can get ready for a bigger film in May which will be fun.  After that, I don't know.  I have some ideas, but nothing really written.

We were going to go out tonight to shoot again, but honestly, I don't have it in me.  I'm going to get a good night's sleep and go out shooting tomorrow night with Andrew and Matt.  There really is nothing better than being creative with good friends.  One more night should do the trick and then I can sit my old ass down in front of my computer and put it all together.

Check it out...

I've got some new posts up over on the Twelve Films Project Blog including raw/corrected & graded comparison frames so go check it out.  The shoot went well and I'm psyched about the edit.  Audio-wise, I'm not 100% happy, but I feel like some of it is fixable so I'll be able to make it work.  I'm already starting to plan for February and I'm hoping to get the next thing shot earlier in the month so there's not a big rush to finish.

Otherwise, things are going well.  Work is starting to pick up again now that the holidays are over and I'm getting calls from clients asking about my availability which is always nice.  I'm hoping to be back up and working my ass off in the next couple weeks.

One Year Ago...

Julie & Christian - Our Wedding from Christian Remde on Vimeo.

 

Tidal

The 2nd cut of Sketch is done and has been sent out to some filmmaker friends who's opinion I value.  I've had some feedback already and overall it's been positive with some good notes on how I might be able to tighten and edit.  I've been pushing to hit a 16-17 minute cut, but I feel like that number might not be possible without cutting too much out.  So I think I need to accept that Sketch is going to be a 20 minute short and be happy about that.  It might hurt its chances with some festivals, but I feel like I'd rather make a really good short than worry about whether or not it's going to get into festivals.

The weather finally turned around down here in TX and it's really been beautiful.  It was just in time too, as Saturday is our one-year wedding anniversary and we're planning a full day of frolicking and fun.  Hard to believe that a whole year has gone by since we got our closest friends and family together and ran around NYC taking photos, shooting film and generally having a blast.  It really was a perfect day that totally meshed with our sensibilities.  I don't think either of us would have been happy with the more traditional route of ceremony/reception and I really feel like our wedding fit us perfectly instead of us trying to fit our sensibilities into the standard wedding box.  One other side-note, had we gone with our original plan, we'd be getting married this weekend.  Looking back, I don't think either of us would have survived the year and a half of planning if we had waited.

Boggy Creek is finishing up nicely and we're now in negotiations with a major cable TV network to air the film as a "Premier Event" sometime in the first quarter of 2011.  The network would have a 90-day window to air the film as often as they'd like and then we could release it on DVD and Blu-Ray.  Foreign sales are going well and it's already been sold to a lot of overseas markets with more in negotiation.  Boggy has been an amazing learning experience for me, with production, post and distribution.  Making shorts is great, and I love being able to shoot something in a couple days and put it together, but features is totally where my heart is.

With Boggy Creek almost complete, we're jumping into our next film which we're hoping to start shooting right after Thanksgiving.  Can't give away too much about the film right now, but once it's announced (which should be in the next couple weeks) I'll have more to post up.  I'm producing and editing this one, just like Boggy.  The shoot will go for 4-weeks and finish up right before Christmas, just in time for Julie and I to fly up to Tahoe to meet up with my parents for a week of skiing and hot chocolate by the fire...should be amazing.  After this TX summer, I'm really looking forward to being cold for a week.  

Done

The latest cut of Boggy Creek is finished (whew) and the DVD's have been sent out the the director, the DP and the EP.  Heading into the home stretch which is nice, and I'm hoping that the whole thing will be done in the next 6-8 weeks.  Next thing for me is to start on the poster and other artwork.

Spent the last couple days putting together a schedule and budget for a feature I wrote a couple years ago.  The guys behind Boggy Creek are putting together a package for a couple more horror films and they like my script, so I'm trying to figure out exactly how much money and time we'd need to make it a reality.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, so I'm hoping they approve it and we can move forward.  It's a little vampire comedy that's very sarcastic and very self-referential...it's modeled after the great 80's horror films that I grew up on...lot's of boobs and blood, not these depressing torture epics that everyone is making these days.  Horror used to be fun but now it just feels dirty...when did that happen?  A good example of someone making a fun horror movie is Kerry Beyer's "Spirit Camp"...an excellent low-budget horror film that's funny and scary, but doesn't take itself too seriously.  Same can be said about "Sweatshop" which manages to look like a million dollars while having a very low budget...

Lastly, I recently watched a great documentary called "Pressure Cooker" about a woman (Wilma Stephenson) in NE Philly who teaches a culinary arts class at a high school.  She's this tough-as-nails woman who really wants her kids to succeed and get out of the high-risk areas that they live in...amazing doc, check it out.

East Van

Well, it's been a while...

Julie and I made it down to Austin on April 1st after 3 days of driving a large U-Haul truck.  The lack of rear-view mirror seriously fucked with my equilibrium, but I soon learned to trust the side-view mirrors and all was well.  No accidents and I didn't hit anyone...a job well done if I do say so myself.

The truck was unloaded and we spent the next couple days unpacking.  Our cars were delivered to us (I got a CR-V and Julie got an Accord) and we went on a big shopping bender, getting stuff for the apartment.  The big purchase was, of course, a new teevee which comes in at a mighty 47-inches.  It's a very beautiful LCD 1080p flatscreen and it totally dominates our living room.

Austin has been great so far.  We've been busy getting the apartment all set up (so much more room!) so we haven't been out too much, but we did make it out to this very cool place called Angel's Icehouse to see an old friend of Julie's perform some blues.  It was all outdoors and the weather has been really nice.  Now that we've got the apartment more or less unpacked and Julie has started work, I'm sure our lives will settle into a nice routine.

Boggy Creek is going well and the goal is to have it done by the end of May which I think is doable.  The website will be launching soon (now that I'm back at work) and I've already started the next pass on the edit.  I'm thinking I'll probably do this pass and then had it over to Brian (the director) who will do a pass and then I'll do the fine-cut and get it ready for a final audio mix and color correction.  Brian is directing another film this summer which I'll be producing and handling the post on and then, hopefully, I'll be directing my own film in the fall...but we'll see...

No new animation work yet (been too busy), but I'll try and put something together in the next couple weeks.
 

A quick one before we leave...

So Julie and I are about 95% done with the packing.  There are boxes everywhere, packing tape, bubble wrap and so much dust in the air...ahh, packing.

Julie got sick a few days ago which means that I've had to pick up a lot of the slack and power through...and I still have a 3-day drive in front of me.  Part of me is really looking forward to the drive (I love a good road trip) and the other part of me is dreading sitting behind the wheel of a 14-foot truck for 3 days.  But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that light is a nice big apartment and a new, very exciting life.

Julie got the job she was really excited about at the Dell Foundation and so she's very psyched.  She's going to take a week off to unpack and decompress after the move, so she's not going to start until the 12th, but she's very, very excited.  I'm going to be doing a lot of work from home which I'm looking forward to.  Citi still wants me to do work for them remotely which, combined with all the work on Boggy Creek that still needs to happen, means that I'm going to be a very busy guy for the next couple months.

Julie and I are going to go to Tia Pol tonight for our last dinner in NYC...one last round of bone marrow, lamb skewers and fried chickpeas.  I really think it's going to be the thing we miss most about NYC (not counting people)...we had many a date night there, we went there the night I proposed, the day after our wedding and pretty much every time we wanted to celebrate something.  It's a damn fine restaurant.

We get the truck tomorrow morning from U-Haul and have hired a few guys to help us pack it up.  We drive it out to Matthew and Bronley's place in NJ tomorrow afternoon and then we leave early (like 5:30am) on Tuesday morning.  We drive to Knoxville, TN the first day which will be the long day (12 hours of driving), then Little Rock, AK the second day (only 9 hours).  Then it's straight through to Austin on the 3rd day (about 9 hours)...we should arrive around 4pm which will give us plenty of time to get the truck unloaded (we've got a few guys meeting us there).

Julie's parents are driving our cars up from San Angelo the next day (our cars are there, waiting for us) and then they'll rent a car to drive back home.  Julie got a Honda Accord and I got a Honda CR-V...very exciting.  Haven't owned a car for years (not since the Jeep Wrangler that I loved so much) and I'm looking forward to it.

I'll post up some pics of Austin once we get settled, but there probably won't be any posts for a bit...gotta get moved.

Goodbye NYC...you were great.

A quick update

I'm sure you can tell from the sporadic postings that I've been busy.  Julie and I are deep in the throes of moving (so much cardboard in my home right now) and Boggy Creek has been taking up much of my free time.  I haven't been doing much in the way of animation tests, but I am working on a little video based on my last week in NYC.  I'm hoping to get that finished and posted up once we get down to Austin and unpack.

One quick shout out to a very cool iPhone App that I bought recently called Cross-Process, that allows you to take photos with your iPhone that look like cross-processed film shots.  It's very cool (though I wish you could shut off all the additional audio).  Here's one I took last night in a cab...

And lastly, a HUGE thanks to everyone who came out to our little going away party, it was great to see everyone and we really felt the love...I hope you can all make it down to Austin next year for SXSW!

Tron Legacy

There are no words to describe how excited I am about the new Tron film...so I'll just let these images speak for themselves.

 It doesn't come out until December, so I'm sure there will be at least 1-2 more trailers coming out between now and then...seriously, just so excited about this.